Raleigh cityscape by Abhiram Juvvadi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Breyton Hill interviews Adriana Brassart, Head of Public Diplomacy and Press at the Delegation of the European Union [European Union] to the United States. Adriana explains what her job is and how she first got into the realm of politics.
With Adriana’s previous experience working as an International Policy Officer for the Middle East and now the Head of Public Diplomacy and Press for the United States, the pair discusses how to combat misinformation with media literacy and a critical eye.
Adriana goes on to explain why even college students should care about what is going with the European Union and offers some advice on how to get into journalism, public policy, or politics in general.
Breyton ends the interview with the next Breyton Interrogation: a series of questions to get to know you rather than what you do.
In a capitalist, corporate economy that shames innovation and ridicules creativity, Gen Z struggles to find ways to balance fulfillment with career success. In this episode, we discuss the new film, “Marty Supreme,” and how relevant it is to young adults in todays society.
Bibliography:
Parker, Kim, et al. Key Milestones for Young Adults Today Versus 30 Years Ago. Pew Research Center, 25 Jan. 2024, www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/01/25/key-milestones-for-young-adults-today-versus-30-years-ago/.
Parker, Kim, et al. Financial Help and Independence in Young Adulthood. Pew Research Center, 25 Jan. 2024, www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/01/25/financial-help-and-independence-in-young-adulthood/.
U.S. Census Bureau. Milestones to Adulthood. United States Census Bureau, 2025, www.census.gov/library/stories/2025/08/milestones-to-adulthood.html.
Liu, Jennifer. “High Housing Costs Have Kept 31% of Gen Z Adults Living at Home.” CNBC, 11 Jan. 2024, www.cnbc.com/2024/01/11/high-housing-costs-have-kept-31percent-of-gen-z-adults-living-at-home.html.
WKNC’s slacker interviews Dr. Diamond Forde, poet and professor of Creative Writing at NC State University, about performance, her creative process and the inspiration behind her newest collection, “The Book of Alice.”
All ball and Track as we take a swing at the MLB Spring Training, Softball Wolfpack Classic and the Indoor ACC track and field championships for NC State!
In this episode of “That’s What They Said,” hosts Julia and Kieran provide a mental health “check-in” to discuss their current stress levels and academic strategies as they navigate midterm season. Amidst personal updates about internship searches and community events, Kieran shares her recent struggles with body negativity, highlighted by a bizarre dream where she was a dog with three-inch legs.
Raleigh cityscape by Abhiram Juvvadi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Breyton Hill interviews Dr. Laura Bottomley, an engineering professor at NC State, about her career journey, motivation, and common misconceptions about engineering.
Dr. Bottomley talks about her original dream to be an astronaut right up until the moment she got in the classroom. “I loved it. Teaching was the ultimate puzzle… to figure out how to explain things to people so that they would understand and would get excited about stuff. I was sunk.”
Breyton asks Dr. Bottomley about her career mentors over the years and how one of those mentors prompted Dr. Bottomley to found Women in Engineering at NC State. Dr. Bottomley didn’t see a lot of change happening with regard to getting women into and excited about engineering so she became that change with her K-12 outreach program, the Engineering Place.
The pair discusses how engineering is making a difference in the world and that “engineers are not just people who do math and science alone in their room with the door shut and never talk to people. That image is completely incorrect. [Engineers] have to be very wholistic.”
After clearing up common misconceptions about engineering, Dr. Bottomley offers the question of “what kind of difference do you want to make in the world? Where do you want the impact of your life to be?” and offers some advice on how to discern that. After that, Secretary of the Raleigh Astronomy Club, Ann Murphy, discusses her interactive booth about how time passes differently as well as how your weight and jumping height changes on different planets.
Ann introduces Pluto’s five different moons. Breyton dives deeper into these moons and the five dwarf planets in our solar system including Pluto, Eris, Ceres, Haumea, and Makemake.
Breyton additionally spoke with volunteer, Toby, on different kinds of telescopes. Volunteer Sydney, also at the telescope booth, explains that using a telescope or binoculars, you can see the planet Mars currently in retrograde.
This episode covers NC State Mens Baseball’s opening series vs Princeton, and furthering ACC rivalries with Womens hoops vs Duke and Gymnastics vs Stanford!!!
What happens when you stop hiding the parts of yourself the world taught you to soften?
In this episode, I sit down with Indio Skinner to talk about what it truly means to live unapologetically with a disability. After years of downplaying his spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) to avoid being treated differently, Indio made a bold decision: to show up fully and visibly as himself. That choice didn’t limit him, it empowered him.
We explore how embracing disability can deepen relationships, strengthen identity, and redefine confidence.
This conversation goes beyond disability. We talk about the courage to show weaknesses without seeking validation, the quiet power of small daily acts, and why surrounding yourself with diverse perspectives strengthens who you are. We also reflect on helping others as a form of healing, and how true purpose often lives in everyday human connection, not titles or recognition.
This episode is a reminder that confidence is not about perfection. It’s about ownership. It’s about presence. It’s about loving yourself – unapologetically.
If you’ve ever felt pressure to hide parts of yourself to fit in, this conversation is for you. Thank you so much for listening! -V.
In this episode of That’s What They Said, hosts Julia and Kieran discuss the “college job battlefield,” sharing their personal employment histories and reflecting on their recent experiences with internship and management interviews. The pair also provides personal updates through their “Hi, Low, Buffalo” segment, covering topics ranging from Julia’s recent illness to Kieran’s newfound obsession with oatmeal.
